Tower for windmills.



No. 637,420. Patented Nov. 2|, I899. M. C. ROBBINS. TOWER FOR WINDMILLS.

(Application filed'June 5, 1899.)

0565215, lgaegfm;

, @UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MICHAEL o. ROBBINS, or HARRISONVILLE,MISSOURI.

TOWER FOR WINDMILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 637,420, dated N0Vem'ber 21, 1899.

Application filed June 5, 1899. Serial rt. 719,517. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MICHAEL (J. ROBBINS, acitizen of the United States,residing at Harrisonville, in the county of Cass and State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful Tower for W'indmills, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in towers for windmills.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction oftowers for w-indmills and to provide a simple and comparativelyinexpensive one adapted to be rapidly erected and capable ofdistributing the strain throughout the entire structure,whereby suchstrain will be rendered uniform.

A further object of the invention is to provide atower of this characterwhich will be firm and rigid under both verticaland lateral strain.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanyingdrawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tower constructed inaccordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of aportion of the tower, one of the couplings being shown in elevation.Fig. 3. is a horizontal sectional view. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectionalview of a triangular tower. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of one of thecouplings thereof.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of: the drawlngs.

1 designates a tower rectangular in crosssectionand composed of tubularcorner-posts 2, horizontal cross-pieces 3, and inclined or diagonalcross-pieces 4, constructed of wire and forming awire lacing, as clearlyillustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying draw ings. The corner-postsare stepped in suitable sockets of base-plates 5, and their upper endsare connected to a cap 6 by clips 7, preferably U-shaped and providedwith nuts, as shown. The horizontal cross-pieces, which connect theposts, are arranged at the sides of p the tower, and their terminals fitin horizontal sockets 8 of couplings 9, which are provided with uprightsocketsor collars 10 for the reception of the corner-posts and which areadjustably secured to the same by clampingscrews 11, located at theinner side of the couplings, at the top and bottom thereof, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings. The horizontal sockets,which are located equidistant of the upper and lower edges of theupright socket or collar, are arranged at right angles to each other andare provided at their inner sides with rounded lugs or studs 11, havingheads 12. The headed lugs or studs receive loops 13 of the wire braces14, which are constructed of uniform length and which are strained tothe proper tension by adjusting the collars on the corner posts. Theends of the wire braces are looped and the terminals are twisted, as

clearly shown in Fig. 2, around the body portion of the wire, wherebythey are secured to the same.

The couplings are provided above and be low the horizontal sockets withenlargements or bosses 15, which are provided with threaded perforationscommunicating with the opening of the collar or socket and receiving theclamping-screws 11, which are adapted to engage the corner-posts,whereby the couplings are retained at any desired adjustment.

Instead of constructing the tower rectangular in cross-section, asindicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying drawings, it may bemade triangular in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 4, and the couplings16 will be provided with horizontal sockets 17, arranged at an angle ofsixty degrees instead 0t an angle of ninety degrees, as shown in Fig. 3.The sockets 16 are otherwise constructed similar to. those heretoforedescribed.

It will be seen that the coupling which connects the cross-pieces andthe corner-posts is adjustable on the latter, so that the wire bracesmay be strained to the proper tension, and each of the headed lugs orstuds, which are arranged at the inner sides of the horizontal coupling,receives the adjacent ends of two of the wire braces. The strain isuniformly distributed throughout the entire structure, and the tower,which is perfectly rigid, is adapted to resist vertical and lateralstrain.

' Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details ofconstruction within the scope of the appended claim may be resorted toWithout departing from the spirit or sacriiicing any of the advantagesof this invention.

What is claimed is In a tower, the combination of the cornerposts,connecting horizontal pieces, the 0ppositely-inclined braces crossingeach other between their ends and provided at their terminals withoverlapped loops, the couplings provided with upright'and horizontalsockets to receive the cornerposts and the crosspieces and havingheadedstuds mounted on the horizontal sockets at the inner sides thereops,substantially as described. In testimony that I claim the foregoing asmy own I have hereto aflixed my signature in 20 the presence of twowitnesses.

MICHAEL C. ROBBINS.

\Vitnesses:

A. B. BOHON, A. J SHARP.

